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 15th August 1999 |
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Package: campaign hotting upBy Shelani de SilvaWith the constitutional reforms and the devolution package now likely to be presented within two months, the campaign for and against is being intensified. A prominent pro-Sinhala front has warned it will take legal action against the Government if talks are held with the LTTE and the devolution package is tabled in Parliament. Ven. Maduluwave Sobitha Thera, a leading member of the National Joint Committee comprising about forty groups, said the government was planning to have talks with the LTTE which was a banned organisation, thus making such talks illegal. "The NJC was against the package when it was first put forward four years ago, and will continue to protest against it. We question the government on the purpose of the package and for whose benefit' it is," he said. The NJC has also accused members of the World Council of Churches, and the Catholic Church of holding secret meetings with the LTTE to push the package through. He said the Tamil parties had also been approached by some leaders of the Catholic Church. The NJC has criticised the business community stand on the package, stating that the future of the Sinhala people was determined through this secret plan. In response, Bishop Malcom Ranjith, Secretary of the Catholic Bishop's Conference of Sri Lanka, denied reports that the Catholic Church had any secret meetings with the LTTE but said the Church firmly believed that lasting peace could only be achieved through negotiations. "It is no secret that the Catholic Church has always stressed the need for negotiations. There is another party we have to think of when coming to a settlement between two parties. The allegations against the Catholic Church are made by self-centered people," he charged. A spokesperson for the Bishop of Jaffna told The Sunday Times that there was no meeting between any group and they were not involved in promoting the package. "We only made a request to the Tamil parties to boycott Parliament when the package was being delayed. The rest are only rumours," he said. Meanwhile Parliamentary Affairs Minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle told The Sunday Times that the Government had not approached the Catholic Church to carry out a pro-package campaign. "The position of the Church's has been clear from the beginning. It insists that a fair solution can be reached only through negotiations. The Government has not approached the church to carry out any campaign yet. Maybe, in the future," he said. The minister said he believed third party mediation was needed to solve the problem but the government was yet to decide on it. Meanwhile, as the Government prepares to present the devolution package in Parliament, several pro and anti package campaigns are taking place in the country. Last week the Government's constituent parties staged a picket in support of the package. The picket which urged the government to present the package was also intended to bring about a balanced awareness among the people.
CMC members take police to courtsBy Ayesha R. RafiqFour members of the Colombo Municipal Council and two others have filed a fundamental rights petition in the Supreme Court relating to the attack on them by police personnel near the Town Hall during the July 15 demonstrations. They say that their fundamental right to equality and equal protection of the law was violated by the allegedly malicious and capricious attack by police personnel. The petitioners have said that the attack on the Town Hall was unjustified as all those who had sought shelter there were behaving peacefully. They have asked that the IGP be directed to conduct an investigation into the incident and take appropriate action in respect of any police personnel found to have violated the petitioners' fundamental rights. The petitioners are MMCs S. H. M. Kamil, Ajith Karunaratne, Sampath Rambukkanage, and M. R. Bahudeen and Chief Security Officer G. P. H. Padmabandu and Chief Auditing Officer B. G. D. Senanayake.
Killer drivers see redBy Nilika de SilvaLicences of drivers involved in fatal accidents will be suspended if negligence is proved, DIG Traffic Camillus Abeygoonewardena warned yesterday. This is one of the measures considered to bring down the incidence of fatal accidents. DIG Abeygoonewardena said all Police Stations on main roads had been asked to lay speed traps at different hours of the day to catch speeding drivers. With the competition for passengers on the rise, drivers and conductors of buses behave increasely recklessly on the road. Drivers of intercity buses who are caught speeding will be arrested on detection Mr. Abeygoonewardena added. Sub Inspector Janaka Senadheera of the Police Head Quarters told The Sunday Times that Colombo tops the accident rate. The number of fatal accidents in the first quarter of 1999 have been 486 and the all island total was 13,067. City Traffic Police said, that in the first six months of this year 49 fatal road accidents have been reported and 35 have been those involving pedestrians. During the last six months 119,348 cases have been filed against drivers who violated traffic laws, Sergeant Upali Jayawardena of the City Traffic Police said. About 280 officers of the City Traffic Police provide a round-the-clock-service, but this was not adequate considering the number of vehicles on the road, Sergeant Jayawardena claimed. The highest number of accidents in the city are reported from Kurunduwatte, Maradana, Kollupitiya and Borella areas. Reports say that the highest number of accidents are caused by drivers and riders between the ages of 30 - 39 years. In Moratuwa a young couple died when the motorcycle they were riding crashed into a bowser. The dead are Ajith Kasturiarachchi (25), and Nilupa Kumari Ranasinghe (19), a student.
Cover-up probe in lady lawyer's Crow Island caseBy Frederica JanszThe Crime Detection Bureau has been called in to probe the alleged abduction of a female lawyer by a three wheel driver in Hulftsdorp and an alleged police cover-up. A special CDB team led by its chief Bandula Wickremasinghe is probing whether the lady lawyer just escaped being raped at the dreaded Crow Island beach area in Modera, by an unscrupulous driver who was not arrested even two weeks after a complaint was made to the police. According to the lawyer, she had called a three-wheeler at Hulftsdorp and asked to be taken to Modera for the signing of an agreement. She said that at Ibbawatha Junction the taxi driver took a sudden left turn and at high speed began racing in the direction of the beach. She said she screamed at the driver to stop but he ignored her and sped on. When the vehicle slowed down a little at a hill, she took the chance and jumped out. She then pleaded for help from a nearby boutique while the driver also stopped and began yelling that she had not paid the fair. In the ensuing melee, she threw some money at the driver and went to the Modera police station to file a complaint. But the police allegedly took little or no action and on the contrary, the lawyer said pressure was brought on her to withdraw the case though there was an eyewitness also. By August 11 — twelve days after the incident — a senior criminal lawyer acting on behalf of the lady phoned DIG T. N. de Silva and lodged a formal complaint. DIG de Silva acted fast and called in the CDB. No sooner had the CDB was called in, the Modera police also went into action and within half an hour, the three wheel driver was arrested. Senior Superintendent Wickremasinghe the CDB was now trying to ascertain if the three wheel driver was part of a gang operating in Modera. Modera Police Inspector Nihal Dehideniya denied any cover-up or any link between the driver and policemen. He said he believed the dispute was basically over the fare and it was common practice for drivers to take short-cuts to avoid traffic jams, not for any notorious purpose on the beach. But he had no clear answer why it took two weeks for the Modera Police to arrest the three-wheel driver except to say that the driver was absconding.
Negligence caused death, mother complainsA mother who lost her first baby, which she claims was due to negligence on the part of the hospital has appealed to the Minister of Health to take legal action against the institution. Swarna Padmini, in her letter requested the health authorities to take immediate steps against the ward/theatre staff and doctors of the Kegalle Teaching Hospital for negligence and inefficiency. During her 16-day stay at the hospital, Padmini was examined by the gynaecologist only twice, she claimed in her letter. Padmini also said that she had to consent for a Caesarean section at the last moment as the doctors assured a safe birth. "I was not told by any of the doctors who examined me earlier that I was due for Caesarean section". Padmini who was initially admitted to the Rambukkana District hospital on July 14 was transferred to the Kegalle Teaching Hospital on the same day as her blood pressure was high. On August 30, Padmini discovered that the foetus didn't move and informed the nurse on duty. "The nurse directed me to the gynaecologist who said that there were seven more days for the delivery. Yet, he ordered the nurse to check the Foetal Heart Sound (FHS) every hour". From 4 p.m. that day, every hour, the Family Health Worker (FHW/midwife) recorded the FHS, Padmini said. "Around 8 p.m. that day the FHS was 136. During this time I felt the foetus moving in different directions twice. Though I complained to the nurse, she did not take much notice of it. The BHT recorded the FHS at 134 around 9 and 10 p.m. . "Around 10 p.m., I informed the doctor in charge that day about the decrease in the FHS and that no movement was felt. He checked only my blood pressure and made a note of it in the BHT. He told me that it has decreased. When I went to the midwife at 11 p.m. to check the FHS, she was asleep at the table. However she carried out the test carelessly recording the FHS at 134". Once again at 12 midnight, Padmini had reminded the sleeping midwife to record the FHS. This again was carried out carelessly and the midwife had been aggressive in her speech. The FHS was 130 this time. Padmini informed the nurse about the FHS rate who asked her to sleep on her left. "Neither the head nurse nor the doctor in charge was available at this time to complain," Padmini said. Her repeated complaints about the drop in the FHS to the nurse was of no avail. "The nurse scolded me," she said. Padmini said, "again the FHS test was carelessly carried out at 1 a.m. by the midwife because of my appeals. When the nurse checked my FHS at 2 a.m. she found a sharp drop to 118. I heard her calling the House Officer but he was not available. When he returned half an hour later, their behaviour made me panicky. After examination he called for the Senior House Officer (SHO) who was not in the ward at that time". Later, after examination by the SHO, he ordered that Padmini be prepared for an operation. Padmini's consent for the Caesarean section was obtained but, only to find her first baby dead. When Padmini regained consciousness after the surgery at 7 a.m. that day (July 31), she was told by her sister that her baby boy was dead.
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